Fountain-pen-filling device.



No. 766,202. PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904. S. A. VANDEWATER.

FOUNTAIN PEN FILLING DEVICE APPLICATION FILED 00T.12, 1903.

no MODEL.

41 Min W, E & I

WITNESSES: INVENTOR M- BY M W mmgw UNTTED STATES SAMUEL A. VANDElVATER,OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO BEEKMAN Patented August 2, 1904.

ATENT OFFIcE.

NOVELTY COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NE\\' Y O E ii.

FOUNTAlN-PEN-FILLING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 766,202, d d A g 2,1904.

Application filed October 12, 1903. Serial No. 176,643. No modelf T0 In11-]; (1/11 it may concern:

Be it known that l, SAMUnL A. Vaxnnwm "run, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and a resident of New York city. county and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFountain-Pen- Filling Devices, of which the following is aspecification.reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part thereof.

My invention relates to devices employed for the purpose of fillingfountain-pens, and particuhn'ly relates to improvements thereinresulting in the production of a device of such a simple and compactform as to permit it to be readily carried in the pocket or contained inthe boxes or cases in which fountain-pens are ordinarily packed.

The device comprises a Ushaped tube, one arm provided at its outer endwith a piston or plunger and the other arm adapted to be inserted intoan ink bottle or other receiver. A strut connects the two arms togethernear the base thereof, such strut being employed for the purpose ofstrengthening the device and also i-onstituting means by which thedevice may be grasped by hand during the operation of filling a penbarrel or receiver.

in the preferred form of my invention one of the arms has a flexible orjointed portion whereby it may be bent outwardly when being used for afilling operation, but may be straightened out or folded up, so as tocause the device to take up the smallest space possible and be verycompact when not in operation.

My invention further consists in certain details of construction andcombination of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully pointed out.

I will now proceed to describe a fountainpen-liiiing device embodying myinvention and will then point out the novel features in claims.

in the drawings, Figure 1 shows a view, in partial side elevation andpartial central transverse section, of a fountain-pen-iilling deviceembodying my invention, showing the same in operation. Fig. 2 is a viewin outside elevation of the fountain-pen-iilling device when out ofoperation and closed up for carrying in the pocket or the like. Fig. 3shows a slightlymodilied form in which one of the arms is composed offlexible material substantially throughout its length. Fig. e is a viewin side elevation of a further modified form in which both arms arerigid, but embodying certain other features of my invention.

The device comprises a U-shaped tube, (designated in the drawings as awhole by the reference character l.) The tube comprises an arm 2, to theouter end of which is secured a piston or plunger 3, another arm 4, anda curved portion 5 uniting them. A strut 6, comprising a flat strap ofmetal, extends from one said arm to the other and is rigidly secured toboth of them. This strut not only acts as a brace for rigidly connectingthe parts together and holding them against any tendency to bend, butfurther constitutes a handpiece by which the device may conveniently begrasped when in operation, as shown in Fig. 1.

The arm i is preferably provided with a movable portion 7, jointed tothe main portion of the arm i, which joint may conveniently comprise asmall piece of hose 8, embracing one end of the movable portion T of thearm and the end of the main portion of the arm 4.

The piston 23, which is secured to the outer end of the arm 2.,preferably comprises a small thin rubber washer held upon the end of thesaid arm by means of two metallic washers 9 and 10, rigidly secured tothe said arm. It is particularly desirable for the purposes of thepresent invention that the rubber washer 3 be thin and flexible, and themetal washers are provided for the purpose of securing the same properlyupon the arm and giving the base of the rubber washer sufficientrigidity, while permitting full play and flexibility to the outer end ofthe same.

The operation of the device is as follows: The fountain-pen reservoir orbarrel having been removed from the pen-holding portion, the piston orplunger 3 is forced into same as far as it will go. The device is thengrasped by the handpiece 6, and the movable member '7 of the arm ainserted into an ink well or receiver. The pen-barrel is now withdrawn,the effect of which movement of withdrawal being to suck ink from theink bottle or receiver through the pen-filling device into the barrel,so that when the barrel is finally removed it will be substantiallyfilled with ink.

After the device has been used it may be wiped off and the movableportion 7 of the arm 4 folded up, as shown in Fig. 2, when it can beconveniently carried in the pocket or placed in the pen case or box.

The form of connection shown is a preferable form, because the rubber ofwhich the hose 8 is composed being elastic the parts will have aninitial tendency to return to the position shown in Fig. 2 directly theyare released. The connection is hence an elastic one and is a desirable,simple, and inexpensive construction.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a somewhat-modified structure, in which themovable portion 7 of the arm 4: is flexible throughout, the entiremovable portion comprising a section of flexible hose.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a further-modified form, in which the arm 4 hasno movable portion and which hence does not embody all the advantages ofthe other forms shown herein; but the structure, however, is a compactone, which may be readily carried in the pocket, and embodies some ofthe advantages of my present invention.

While I have described my invention in' the foregoing as employed forthe purpose of filling fountain-pens, it is obvious that the device willalso be useful in cleaning the same. In its operation of filling apen-barrel, as above described, the piston or plunger scrapes theinterior of the said barrel, and thereby clears the same of any sedimentwhich may have been deposited. The device may further be employed fordrawing water into the penbarrel and then forcing same out again beforebeing used for filling the barrel with ink should the barrel be veryfoul and it be desired to thoroughly wash it out. It will also benoticed that during a fliling operation any fluid remaining in thepen-barrel (either watcr from a washing operation or ink left over froma previous filling) will-be forced out by the movement of the piston orplunger from one end of the barrel to the other, and hence each fillingoperation will result in fresh ink only being introduced into the pen.

\Vhat I claim is I 1. A fountain-pen-filling device comprising aU-shaped tube, one arm of which includes a plunger or piston, and afinger-piece extending between the two arms and rigidly securing themtogether.

2. A fountain-pen-fllling device comprising a bent tube, to one end ofwhich is secured a piston or plunger, and a finger-piece secured to thesaid tube by which it may be grasped by hand. I

3. A fountain-pen-filling device comprising a bent tube, to one end ofwhich is secured a piston or plunger, the outer end of the other I armjointed to the main portion of the device and constituting a movableportion.

4. A fountain-pen-filling device consisting of a bent tube comprisingtwo arms, a piston or plunger secured to the outer end of one of thesaid arms, the other of the said arms having a movable portion, and anelastic connection securing the movable portion to the main portion.

5. A fountain-pen-filling device consisting of a bent tube comprisingtwo arms, a piston orplunger secured to the outer end of one of the saidarms, and a section of flexible hose comprising a portion of the othersaid arm.

6. A fountain-pen-filling device comprising a bent tube, having a thinrubber washer mounted upon the outer end of one of its arms, metallicwashers rigidly secured to thetube upon opposite sides of the saidrubber washer, and a finger-piece extending from one arm to the otherand rigidly connected to both, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

SAMUEL A. VANDEVVATER.

IVitnesses:

H. BEEKMAN, C. F. WEBSTER.

